Bethpage-Tribune_1976-01-15

              BETHB^CE
W PUSUC LIBRARY
ti i n «
BETHPAGE LIB
47 POWELL AV
BETHPAGE NY I1714
also serving ISLAND TREES
OLDBETHB«GE PLA1NVIEW PLAINEDGE SEAFORD
VOL. 10 NO. 8 Thursday, January 15,1976 to cents per copy
Bethpage Midget Football
Dinner Guest
Preparations
completed for the Tenth Annual
Awards Dinner of the Bethpage
Midget Football Association, to
be held on Wednesday, February
11, 1976 at the Crest Hollow
Country Club, Jericho Turnpike
in Woodbury. The gala evening
will mark the reunion of football
players, cheerleaders, parents
and coaches following the recent­ly
completed 1975 season.
The featured guest at the
Dinner will be New York Jets
Quarterback J.J. Jones who will
address the gathering and also
handle the questions that come
from the local youngsters. Local
John (J.J.) Jones, Quarterback
have been sports, civic and municpal
leaders will also be attending and
trophies will be awarded to the
winners from the three Panther
travel teams of the Long Island
Midget Football League as well
as to the Panther Cubs, the ex­citing
8 and 9-year-olds who
completed their second con­secutive
season on a successful
note.
As in prior years, attendance
will be heavy and parents who
recently received their tickets in
the mail are asked to respond by
check as soon as possible to
Dinner Chairman Andy Draghi,
1812nd treet, Bethpage.
Condominum Council Formed
The newly-formed Con­dominium
Council of Long
Island, Inc. (CCLI) currently
representing twelve con­dominium
developments and
over 3009 units, has drawn the
attention of the N.Y.S. Attorney
General's Office due to the sharp
increase in such dwellings in the
State and especially Long Island,
and the advent of multiple
problem areas between
homeowners and developers.
"We're adamant that what has
occurred in Florida and other
states will not happen here,"
stated CCLI president Leon L.
Lunden, C.P.A. (Strathmore
Gate East, Coram). "We're
thrilled at confirmation from
Assistant Attorney General
Walter Goldsmith (Condominium
and Theatrical Syndication
Dept.) that he will address a
general meeting this evening at
8:00 P.M. at Village on Artist
Lake, Route 25, Middle Island.
We've just completed a highly
successful all-day workshop
attended by participants
representing 18 condominium
groups and our membership rolls
are drawing from all over Suffolk
and Nassau County, where 75
condominium developments exist
already or are in process.
Everyone knows from extensive
press coverage over the past few
years what horrendous avenues
an honest, innocent investment
can take due to lack of knowledge
beforehand plus deceitful
misrepresentation by some
scurrilous builders and land
developers. .It's time people took
an active part in running their
financial investments ~ we're
offering them an opportunity to
get in on the ground floor,"
Lunden concluded.
Mr. Goldsmith's subject will be
"The role of the Attorney General
during pre-takeover and post-takeover
by condominium unit
owners", which stresses the
areas where most confusion and
dissatisfaction arise. Con­dominium
living is a way of life in
the future according to all
available statistics, and the
general public is invited to get a
firsthand lesson on policies and
possible pitfalls. New York State
is known to be a leader in
providing strict legal guidelines
in preparation of prospectus
material which unfortunately is
not read or questioned by
prospective homeowners prior to
their final commitment on a
purchase agreement.
Condominum Proposal
Draws Strong Opposition
Island Trees Residents Protest Feldman Brothers
Project On Hempstead Turnpike
The Island Trees School
Board, joined by school
and community leaders
presented a solid front to
the Hempstead Town
Board in opposition to a
proposal by Feldman
Brothers of Levitown
Mall, Inc. to build a 282-
unit condominium in the
district.
"Never was the district
more united," stated a
school spokesman.
Residents of the district
had been polled before the
hearing and in just a short
space of three days over
400 names were gathered
on a petition opposing the
project. The Board also
sent out a letter and return
post card and these have
been returned "99.4
percent against the
project," according to
Board President Richard
Ahrens.
Levittown Mall, Inc. had
petitioned the Hempstead
Town Board to upzone the
16.5 acre parcel of com­mercial
property to "C-A"
classification to allow
construction of the con­dominiums
which abut the
existing Nassau Mall.
The Feldmans had sold
the Nassau Mall and since
then have had various
schemes to use their
vacant land. Their original
plan was '^Crescent
Park*" an office complex
of 3 buildings. The district
was sold on this idea and
were eagerly awaiting the
"tax windfall" that was
implied during the
promotion of Crescent
Park. With the downturn
of the economy, etc, the
Feldmans ended up with
one completed office
building (50 percent
vacant) and a big hole in
the ground.
Because several
business ventures did not
work out, the owners of the
16.5 acre parcel tried the
condominium approach.
The Superintendent of
Schools, Dr. Richard G.
Morrow told the Town
Board that the 282 units
proposed by the builder
would generate at least 300
students and this would
cause a further tax hard­ship
on an already over­taxed
community.
Councilman Anthony
Imbarrato who until
recently, resided in the
Levittown area, agreed
with Dr. Morrow that the
developers figures of how
many school-age children
might have to be absorbed
by the Island Trees
District were unrealistic.
Dr. Morrow pointed out
that with increasing in­flation,
threatened loss of
state aid and the cost of
educating a pupil at over
$2200 per year the district
would be squeezed beyond
its limit.
A parade of spokesmen
from P-TA and youth
groups and individual
taxpayers spoke against
the proposal.
Fred Neis* ac^ve in
youth programs, stated it
would be a drain on youth
facilities in the com­munity.
It was also pointed out
by a former Board
President that Island
Trees is a bed-room
community and has been
burdened with a high tax
rate because of a lack of
commercial and industrial
property in the com­munity.
"To dry up
existing commercial
property would be tragic,"
said the former official. As
the economy improves we
need existing commercial
property to provide the tax
revenue we urgently need
for the future and also the
possibility of creating jobs
for people in the com­munity.
We cannot afford
to give up the little com­mercial
land we have in
Island Trees and take on
more dependents.
Another spokesman
stated Island Trees has
been trying to hold its own
and stabilize its tax
situation.
Past board members
and the present board
have labored long and
hard to give the district
good quality education and
keep the taxes from
soaring out of sight.
People will lose their
homes if the taxes are not
(Continued on Page 6)